NiSource (NYSE:NI) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $36.00 to $38.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. NiSource traded as high as $35.21 and last traded at $35.20, with a volume of 897222 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.77.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NI. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 146.2% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,388,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,322 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 68.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,342,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,353,977 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the first quarter worth $34,419,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,946,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,519,823,000 after acquiring an additional 991,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 118.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,616,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,449,000 after purchasing an additional 876,033 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Up 1.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $15.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.65.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.28%.

About NiSource

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.